Is there someone who you adored when you were young who you’ve worked into your creative endeavors as an adult?
I ask because I listen to the radio a fair amount and two songs that get played a decent amount mention Michelle Pfeiffer in very flattering terms. The songs are Riptide by  Vance Joy and Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars. I started to wonder if song writers of a certain age would naturally be infatuated with Pfeiffer, who was quite ever-present in Hollywood films for a while. (Even though it was universally panned by critics, I loved Grease 2 as a kid; I still sing, “I want a C-O-O-L- R-I-D-E-R”)
So, it got me to thinking about whether there was someone I adored in my youth who I’ve worked into my creative works as an adult. Michelle and her cool rider withstanding, I was a big soap fan. I would watch in the summers with my mom and grandmother and I also watched in college. I really adored General Hospital’s Jack Wagner, who used to sing his song Lady of My Heart on the show. Sadly, no Jacks have appeared in my work. Maybe I’ll change that in the future.
I will say that I named the character Luke off the top of my head and liked it. However, when I was searching for a last name, I decided to use the surname of my very favorite Luke: Tony Geary, who played Luke Spencer on GH. Also, due to my GH watching back in the day, I was familiar with the name Ingo, which plays an amusing role  in Life First and Second Life. The actor Ingo Rademacher played the role Jasper Jacks on GH. So, in that sense, my youthful GH fandom made it into my work.
So, how about you? Anything you’ve worked into your story from youthful adorations? Anything you want to work in, but haven’t? (I’ll end this with Uptown Funk, the Ronson/Mars song, as it’s so much fun – “Got to kiss myself, I’m so pretty.”)
Yeah–the was a GREAT way to start my Thursday 😀 Thanks!
Loved that you slipped your own fan grrl stuff into your work. I’ve done the same in a couple of books. I paid homage to Warren Zevon in one of them (Werewolves of London) and have worked in other references/names in secondary characters. I remember GH and Luke and Laura–used to watch it in college. Thanks for bringing back some fun memories.
Thanks, DV. I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s slipped some homage into their work. 🙂 And Luke and Laura were very cool. It’s amazing that they could become such a part of the collective memory of the nation. As an aside, I must admit I’ve always been awed by soap opera writers. To come in and write so much and keep these story arcs going for months, with daily episodes. All the moving parts boggle my mind. I know they don’t work alone, as a single writer, but still, it’s such a huge writerly undertaking, even as a group. I bet soap writers would give great advice and perspective.